On Sunday 13 January, wrap up warm and join us to welcome the new year with live music, dance, fun workshops and more at Freespace Happening in the West Kowloon Art Park.

On stage we have an exciting feast of local and international music. Flying in from Canada are the Cris Derksen Trio, a music ensemble that knit together indigenous, classical and contemporary sounds with urban elements. From Hong Kong we have David Boring, Dusty Bottle, Winter Bagels and The Seekers, plus avant-garde jazz quintet Mo-Men-T, who team up with the Experimental Vocal Ensemble for an emotive set of newly arranged songs. Not to be missed is the solar and human kinetic energy-powered Solar Sound System, back with a completely new DJ line-up.

To chase away the winter chill, the afternoon’s WE Dance workshops and performance, led by the quirky, colourful Condors Dance Company, offer an offbeat take on the traditional Japanese folk dance bon-odori that is sure to keep you up and dancing and help break the ice with strangers! The wacky bunch also have a lively performance up their sleeves, so make sure you don't miss out!

The new year is a good time to make a fresh start, so what better place to do that than at “a nice place to”, where the theme for this month is Open Mind and Open Space. If you’d like to learn about healthy eating and how to reduce food waste, head over to the “Open Picnic: Eat Well”, where our partners Go Cup and Eat Well, Live Well present sharing and games to help you and your little ones learn fun facts about food!

If you want to get creative, you can weave together your wishes and hopes for the new year at our Dreamcatcher Workshop, or make your own musical instrument at the Thumbiano Workshop.

This month, the House of Hong Kong Literature presents the new programme “Personality Readings”, with a short quiz and literature readings that will help you uncover your hidden character. You can also cosy up on the lawn with an adopted or borrowed book at the Reading on the Grass book-crossing or pick up a poetry-inspired charm at the Literature Gachapon capsule vending machine.

Animal lovers can join the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society’s introduction to the city’s best birding hotspots and learn about local endangered species, or visit the staff from LAP Lifelong Animal Protection Charity and learn how to communicate with our four-legged friends!

Freespace Happening is West Kowloon Cultural District’s regular free outdoor event. Between August 2015 and March 2018, Freespace Happening attracted over 170,000 visitors to West Kowloon.

Calling handicraft makersFreespace Happening features a regular handicraft market where makers can showcase and sell their unique, original work. If you are interested in running your own stall at Freespace Happening, please fill in the application form here.

Want to perform at Freespace Happening or have ideas for collaborations?Fill in this form and send it with the required attachments to freespacehappening@wkcda.hk.

Can’t wait for the next event?Freespace Mixtape Vol. 1, a recording featuring the creative results of the cross-genre musical collaborations initiated by Freespace Happening, is available for sale. Find out more here. To hear the bands talk about their experience, watch our short video interviews. Freespace Mixtape Vol. 2 is currently in the making – stay tuned for more information!

“Of Pastures Wild and Wide”, our new publication featuring works by 24 major Hong Kong writers inspired by the plants cultivated at West Kowloon, is now available in major bookstores around town. Produced in collaboration with The House of Hong Kong Literature, “Of Pastures Wild and Wide” is available in Chinese only.

Poem of the Season: Responding to this season’s theme, “Stories of our space”, local poet Law Kwai Cheung penned a special Freespace Happening poem. Click here for the poem, analysis and author’s bio. Available in Chinese only.

And don’t forget, West Kowloon remains open all year round. Head over any time to relax on the grass with friends, family and pets, ride a bike, enjoy a picnic, watch sunsets or just lie back and look at the stars. See opening arrangements

Programme Partners

Supported by

WE Dance Collaborating Partner

Date

13.01.2019

Venue

Art Park, West Kowloon

Part of

Taking “Stories of our space” as our theme, this season of Freespace Happening offers activities designed to inspire fresh perspectives on our connections with the city’s vibrant mix of communities, its natural environment and its diverse plant and wildlife. Join us and help us shape a rich and stimulating space